Leading Charity Reports of Suicide Crisis

"Some rang the 24-hour helpline while attempting to take their own lives," Paddy
Shannon,
ChildLine Northern Ireland, said.

"Others said they had already tried to kill themselves and were thinking of
trying again."

The NSPCC has called for urgent action to bolster Child and Adolescent Mental
Health
Services in Northern Ireland, the BBC reports.

The charity, which runs ChildLine, said such services needed to be properly
resourced.

The 550 young callers - some as young as eight years old - who were worried
about
depression, suicide and other mental health problems would have filled 23
classrooms, Mr
Shannon, director of ChildLine, said.

"We are able to give immediate support to these young people, who are going
through a
terrifying experience, but it is clear that those who call us with serious
problems may need
more intensive therapeutic support over a sustained period.

"At the moment, there are simply not enough therapeutic services for children
with these
problems and we are urging the government to give this issue urgent attention."

Of calls to the Northern Ireland base about suicide, nearly three quarters came
from girls.

However, despite the higher number of calls from girls, statistics show that
suicide among
young men is double that of females, highlighting the need for resources
targeted at males
in particular, the charity said.

Belfast man Gerard McCartan whose son Danny took his life, said much more needed
to
be done to help young people.